Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO and visionary most responsible for some of history’s greatest gadgets, including the iPod and iPhone,  recently received a liver transplant, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

Jobs has been on leave from Apple since January. He’s expected to resume working later this month, on at least a part-time basis, the story reports.

Jobs’ health first made headlines in August 2004, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Since then, the press has speculated a great deal about his health, a situation made worse by the secrecy for which Apple is famous.

Apple was struggling mightily in the mid-1990s when Steve Jobs, absent for a number of years from the company he helped found, came back on board (things got so bad for Apple, in fact, that the company needed a loan from Microsoft of all companies to help stay afloat). Soon after Jobs’ return, things began to turn around for Apple.

Now, of course, the company is hugely profitable and influential in the industry, and losing Jobs would be a  gigantic blow. To that end, we wish Jobs a speedy recovery and hope he has many years of health — and creating great gadgets — left in him.